Ava Leigh Gilmore
by adambrodylover
Summary: Ava Leigh Gilmore is twin to the ever perfect Rory, and tends to separate herself from the close bond of her sister and mother. When Jess arrives and is introduced to Ava first, a romance soon follows. Ava is no Rory, and is determined to set a path for herself separate from her family.
1. New Boy

I was sitting on my bed, listening to my mother's best friend Sookie fretted to her boyfriend Jackson about what to make for Mom's friend (who is clearly in love with her) Luke's nephew Jess. It was ridiculous because everything she made was amazing, but anyway, that was Sookie.

I glanced up from my sketching to see my identical twin sister Rory frantically typing away on her computer. My hair was short, hers was long. I tended to wear funky little outfits, whereas Rory was conservative. In any case, those were the ways to tell us apart. We both loved to read, but Rory was obsessed with school. I was obsessed with drawing and boys.

"Oh, wow, something smells good," Mom complimented as she walked into the kitchen beside Rory's and my bedroom. This whole get together was her idea, to welcome Jess to Stars Hollow. Word around town wasn't in his favour, but that had never bothered me before. I was intrigued to meet him.  
After some chit chat, Mom knocked on our door.

"Miladies?" she said.

"Come in," Rory called, as I was once again concentrating on my drawing. I tended to zone out once I got really into it. I returned to reality as Mom came in.

"Hey, you guys joining the festivities?"

"In a sec," Rory said.

"You sound crabby," Mom commented.

"I'm concentrating," she explained.

"Okay, don't concentrate too hard. Boys like 'em dumb, right Jackson?"

Jackson called from the next room, "If you can navigate yourself around a tree, keep on walking,"

"I left a textbook upstairs," Rory said. "I'll be right back,"

"Bathroom reading?" I teased and she rolled her eyes at me as she quickly darted out of the room.

"Ava?" Mom turned to me.

"Mom!" I groaned. "I've almost got this shading perfect,"

Thankfully a knock at the front door distracted her.

"Coming!" Mom called, leaving me to it for a few moments before I was sure she would summon me out.

I could hear him being introduced to the crazy people known as my family and friends, and Mom called out, "Rory, Ava, they're here,"

"Coming," I called, then turned and saw a gorgeous dark haired boy. Never one to falter in front of a guy, I casually said, "Hey,"

"Hey," he said, walking into the bedroom.

"I'm Ava," I said, closing my sketchbook.

"Yeah, I figured," he said, and I laughed. He looked at me, confused.

"You'd have a fifty-fifty shot of guessing I'm Ava," I said. "Because I'm taking it you haven't met Rory yet?"

He smirked. "I caught a glimpse as she ran up the stairs, but Luke said one twin was an artist and the other…"  
He seemed hesitant to reveal more, but I could already guess why.

"Super smart?" I said, not really caring. In English, I could easily match Rory. I just didn't care as much for the other subjects, hence me remaining at Stars Hollow High while she went to the snobby prep school known as Chilton.

He grinned, looking relieved that I hadn't been bothered by it.

"Her books?" he said, as he looked at one of our bookshelves.

"One of the few things Rory and I have in common, actually," I said. "We read most of the same stuff,"

"Wow, aren't we hooked on phonics,"

"Do you read?" I asked. Most of the guys around Stars Hollow weren't big readers.

"Not much," he said, taking a book of the shelf and examining it. I noticed it was _Howl_.

"I could loan you that if you want,"

"No thanks," he said, ultra casually. I put my hands on my hips.

"Sure whatever," I said, not really believing that he read at all. I was starting to think that _Playboy_ was considered reading material for this guy. Damn, and he was so cute too.

Mom poked her head in. "Okay, we really need to get Jackson away from the lemons now, so we're moving the feast in the living room," she said, walking away.

"Coming," I called, getting up.

"So do these open?" he asked, looking at the window.

"Nice try," I said. "But I have to live with these people, and so will you in this town. Not worth it to bail. Plus, it's Tuesday night in Stars Hollow. There's nowhere to bail to. The 24-hour mini-mart just closed twenty minutes ago,"  
I'd heard he was from New York, so I took it that he thought there would actually be something good to do.

"So we'll walk around or sit on a bench and stare at our shoes,"

"Scared off by the crazies are you?" I teased, as I headed for the doorway.

"No," he muttered.

"Come on," I laughed. "I'll protect you, trust me,"

"I don't even know you," he protested.

"Well, don't I look trustworthy?" I said with mock innocence. Even with identical features, I couldn't pull what Rory could effortlessly.

"No," he laughed, and I grinned in triumph. I had a feeling it wasn't that easy to make Jess laugh. We entered the kitchen. "Want a drink?"

"I'll get it," he said, and I went into the living room where everyone else was congregated.

"Hey Ava, where's Jess?" Luke asked as I walked in.

"Grabbing a drink," I said, hoping he was going for something non-alcoholic. He was clearly the type to drink just to get a reaction.

Mom handed Luke a plate.  
"I'm sorry, you must've mistaken me for you," he deadpanned, making me laugh. We Gilmores were famous for eating huge amounts of food.

"Ooh, too much?"

Sookie slapped a hand to her forehead, as Rory ducked around her to grab a plate. "Oh, I forgot the garlic bread,"

"I'll get it," Mom offered, heading into the kitchen. After a moment, I followed her, curious as to why Jess wasn't back yet. He wasn't in the kitchen. Mom had already pulled the bread out of the oven and then headed out the front door.

I peeked out of the window to see my mom taking a beer out of Jess' hands.

"Oh, for me, hey, thanks," she took a sip. "Refreshing. So what, you're not hungry?"

"Not really,"

"Well, Sookie made you some grilled cheese if you don't like pot roast," Mom offered.

"Oh, well, if I'd had known that…" he said, heavy on the sarcasm.

"Let me guess, you don't want to be here?" she said.

"Doesn't matter," Jess shrugged.

"I mean, here in Stars Hollow," Mom clarified.

"Well geez, Ms. Gilmore, why would anyone not want to be here in Stars Hollow? That just sounds plum crazy."

"Ugh, Jess, let me give you a little advice. The whole 'my parents don't get me' thing, I've been there,"

"You have, huh?" Jess said, clearly not caring.

"Yes, I have. I've also done the 'chip on my shoulder' bit. Ooh, and the surly, sarcastic, 'the world can bite my ass' bit, and let me tell you, I mastered them all, in heels, yet. And everything you're feeling might be totally justified, maybe you are getting screwed. But Luke is a great guy. He's very special, and he really wants to take care of you and make things right for you. You're incredibly lucky to have him. If you give this situation half a chance, you might be surprised at how good it can be, how much you like living here, and how comfortable it feels to have someone like Luke you can really depend on."

Her rant came to an end, and while much too soppy, I could tell her heart was in the right place. She was trying to help out Luke.

"What are you sleeping with him or something?" Jess' blunt reply made me see red. What an ass!

"Excuse me?" she said, completely taken aback. For all the lip I gave her, she had never received such disrespect from a teenager before. Even I had a line I knew not to cross.

"I don't know. The whole starry eyed 'you're so much better off, just give it a chance' speech. You're either really naïve, or you're getting some."

"Ugh. There have been very few moments in my life where I have actually wished I had one of those enormous cream pies you can just smash in someone's face, but this is definitely one of them."

"Well, now, that's not very neighbourly," he said mockingly.

"Hey, you know what, this is my house, and I choose how I get talked to in it," she snapped.

"You know, you don't know anything about me, or my life, or my mom, or Luke, so why don't you Doctor Laura someone else."

"I'm going inside, stay out of my fridge," she finally lost her temper and headed inside. Guessing Jess wasn't about to return, I quickly headed out the front door. Nobody noticed me go, so caught up in getting the food. As predicted, I ran into Jess almost immediately.

"Hey!" I called angrily.

"Hey," he said, looking surprised to see me.

"You're an ass," I said bluntly.

"What?"

"You. Are. An. Ass." I snapped. "Yeah, some of what she said was a little lame. And no, she doesn't get everything about you and your life. But she put this whole dinner on for you without knowing you. I get it, you're mad at the world," I said mockingly. "Who isn't? We're teenagers, the world is supposed to be a shitty place right now. That doesn't mean you treat someone like you just did."

"You Gilmores rant, don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Now turn around," I said. "We are going to eat dinner. I will even try and redirect all the crazy from you."

He looked at me in shock. "I'm not going back in there,"

I sighed. "Jess, go in there or don't. It's up to you. If you think this is going to be a nicer place to live because you've deliberately alienated everyone, you're an idiot."

I turned and started to walk away.

"The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. They can sit at their ease and gape at the play. If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat." Jess quoted.

I froze. "Oscar Wilde,"

"Yep,"

I turned back to him. He really was full of surprises.

"I thought you didn't read much?" I accused.

"What is much?" he said. "You know you're pretty bossy,"

I put a hand on my hip. "You're full of surprises,"

"So are you," he replied. "So what is your personality exactly? Suffering artist? Literary in disguise? Crazy rant lady? Bossy?"

"As opposed to you, Mr I Don't Read Much but can quote Wilde, be rude to my mother but put up with me yelling at you,"

He smirked. "Well she was hardly as pretty, was she?"

"Well you're certainly not the ugly and stupid," I said.

"Just stupid?"

I grinned. "To think I had an air of mystery. You saw exactly where I was going with that."

"Fine, I'll eat," he said, falling into step beside me as we walked back around the house. "You better protect me from the crazy,"

"Look, I'll give it my best shot," I compromised. "You'll learn to find it entertaining at the very least, trust me,"

Luke was in the backyard as we walked up. He looked angry, so I put on a bright smile.

"Just giving Jess the tour," I said. "Let's eat, I'm starving,"

I dragged Jess by the arm behind me, followed after a moment by a confused looking Luke.

It was clear during dinner that Mom and Luke had had a fight, clearly over the fight Mom had had with Jess. Dinner was slightly less energetically crazy than usual, other than Sookie's usual rants on the food.

Everyone left not too long later. Rory volunteered to clean up as Mom went to bed claiming a migraine. Reluctantly, I helped Rory clean up.

"So what was with all the tension?" she asked. "And where did you and Jess disappear off to?"

"Just giving him a tour," I said flippantly. Rory and I shared a bedroom but existed in different worlds, with books our only bridge of communication.  
She gave me a look that suggested she didn't believe me, which I ignored. I couldn't stop thinking of the dark haired boy who could quote Oscar Wilde.

Mom was avoiding Luke's. This was a nightmare. The three of us stood out the front of Luke's Diner, while I tried to look in and see if I could spot Jess. Disappointed, I realised he wasn't there.

"You're being completely childish," Rory said to Mom.

"Am not," Mom said childishly.

"So what, we're never gonna go into Luke's again?"

My eyes went wide at this. "Oh God, no. That cannot happen. We'll starve without Luke's, Mom!"

Mom sighed heavily. "Guys, this was a bad one, okay? This was not Nick and Nora, this was Sid and Nancy, and I'm not going in there."

"But the coffee is in there," I said bluntly. "A Gilmore goes where the coffee is,"

"And it's Danish Day. Are you seriously telling me that you're gonna let a stupid fight get in the way of Danish Day?" Rory continued to cajole.

"No, I'm not," Mom said. I looked at her suspiciously. That was too easy.

"Good," Rory said with relief.

"So go in there and order three coffees and three Danishes to go,"

"You're kidding, right?" Rory said.

"Don't worry, guys, I've got this," I said.

"Thank god, you beautiful child," I looked at her in amusement, before she got irritated when she decided I wasn't going fast enough. "So go on, scoot, scoot, Mommy's right here,"

I walked up to the counter where Luke was waiting for me.

"Hey Luke," I said casually.

"Ava," he nodded.

"Mom needs her coffee," I said bluntly. "And it's Danish Day. Can't we let it all go for the sake of Danish Day?"

"I'll give you what you order, I'll give Rory what she orders," he said bluntly. Good god, these two were so stubborn.

"Fine, I want three cherry Danishes and three cups of coffee," I said firmly.

"Tell you what, I'll give you one Danish and one cup of coffee, you can sit over there and eat, and when you're finished them right over there where I can see you, then I'll bring you a second one, followed by the third round when you finish that."

Oh great, how was I supposed to convince Jess the town wasn't completely crazy when his own uncle had officially lost his mind?

"You're really just gonna stand there and watch me eat a Danish?" I said skeptically.

"Cable's out. I'm starved for entertainment."

"Okay, this is insane. So you guys had a fight, big deal. You know you're gonna make up anyway, and do you know what that woman is like without coffee? Think of the children, Luke! So do it for the children, and for Danish Day,"

Without even blinking at my dramatic speech, he said, "One Danish, one cup of coffee, take it or leave it."

"I'll take it," I said miserably, knowing my mother was going to be all over me. I glanced around. "So, is Jess around?"

"He's out," he said, looking at me suspiciously. "Is that coming from you or your mother?"

"From me," I admitted, and Luke looked surprised. "What? I was just being friendly. It has been known to happen on occasion."

Okay, so usually I mocked people and had bonded with Luke over that, but still. I could be friendly.

"Well like I said, he's out," he said. "Come back soon,"

I walked out to where my mother and sister were waiting.

"Well?" Mom said hopefully.

"He would only sell me one," I said. "He will only sell Rory and I one each,"

"Did you lie and say they were all for you and Rory?"

"Mom, he can see you out here!"

"Besides, Luke knows you well enough to know that you're not gonna go a whole day with no coffee and especially no Danish." Rory said knowingly.

"Ugh!" Mom said, completely frustrated.

"Just go in there and make up, and you'll have your own coffee and Danish," I advised.

"Why don't you give me half your Danish and some coffee?" she pleaded.

"Why doesn't Rory try and convince Luke?" I suggested, hoping to keep my whole coffee and Danish. When Mom turned to badger Rory, I quickly made my escape and headed to school.

After school, I decided to head for the bridge. It was my favourite place to relax in all of Stars Hollow. I'd heard rumours that Jess had stolen change from the tyrannical Taylor Doose's donation cup to repair the bridge. I never had any problems with the bridge, but that was Taylor. Always looking to 'improve' something in this town.

When I arrived, I was startled to see Luke storming off into the distance and Jess making his way out of the lake. I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing.

He looked up and his cheeks went slightly pink. "Oh great,"

"Not happy to see me?" I asked as I sat down in my usual place.

"The world in general," he corrected me as he made his way onto the bridge, dripping wet.

"Did Luke push you in?" I asked, hardly believing it and giggling once Jess confirmed it with a nod. "Sorry," I said once I'd calmed down. "I didn't see you at school,"

"Oh, I was there," he said, taking his jacket off and sitting beside me. A school that says the Pledge of Allegiance in six different languages?"

I shrugged. "Only if you want extra credit. I say it in plain old English, and do most of the people there. What's the problem?"

His slightly panicked eyes looked slightly calmed by this news. "Really?"

"Really," I said with amusement. "Let me guess, you had Mr Thomas?"

"Yeah…"

"He's a hard ass, he'll tell you that you need to learn all the languages," I explained. "None of the other teachers care at all,"

"Oh," he sighed, looking immensely relieved. "I saw you at lunch, but you were with a group of friends,"

"You should have come over," I said. "Anything else panicking you?"

"Other than being taken away from my whole life in New York?"

"Other than that," I conceded.

"Well, I'm wet,"

I smirked.

He laughed. "I better go change,"

"I'll see you later,"

"Sure,"

Too distracted to draw (finding it too funny Luke had actually pushed Jess into the water) I headed home and straight for the cupboard, hunting for a snack as Mom arrived home in a typically dramatic fashion.

"Girls?" she called.

"Kitchen," Rory called from where she was doing homework at the kitchen table.

"Nowhere in either Stars Hollow or its surrounding counties can you get a decent cup of coffee," she complained, heading straight for the fridge and grabbing out a bag of coffee beans, starting to make herself a cup. "I swear, it's like a big, stupid coffee conspiracy."

"Why don't you just pour the water right into the bag?" I teased, eating from a bag of chips.

"You jest? Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind," Mom retorted. "It's looking better and better all the time,"

Rory quickly ducked into our room and Mom looked over her notes as the coffee machine got to work.

"Rory, what's this?"

I was surprised by Mom's interest in what Rory was writing, Lorelai Gilmore was hardly academic.

"What?" Rory called.

"This that you're working on?"

I walked over to have a look, and was surprised to see Max's name written down. Max Medina, one of Rory's teachers, had been engaged to Mom before she had had a classic freak out, resulting in a sporadic road trip for the three of us to see Rory's dream school. I think Mom was trying to encourage me, but I spent the trip with my head focused on a sketch. Rory and Mom clicked in a way that was very easy to leave me out at times.

"Oh, that's my interview with Max," Rory said awkwardly, approaching us.

"What interview with Max?" Mom asked.

Rory explained Paris had basically got her to do it, and I leaned against the bench, somewhat depressed. I had liked Max, and then he was abruptly gone from our lives. It rang too close to my relationship with my father. Rory adored him. I went out of my way to actively avoid him, typically.

"Well, I'm going to buy a folder for it before the store closes," Rory said.

"I'll come with," I said. "I need a new sketchbook,"

"Didn't you just buy one?" Mom asked curiously.

I shrugged. I may or may not have been drawing Jess. Shut up, I know I'm lame.

"My talented artist," she grinned. "And this is some good writing here, missy,"

I walked out, somewhat annoyed that even when complimenting me, Rory got one as well. My sister caught up to me.

"I thought you were coming with, not speeding out the door," she said, nudging against me.

I shrugged.

"What's wrong?"

"I liked Max," I said simply.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Me too,"

I couldn't help but ask, "Doesn't it hit a little close to home?"

"Ava," she warned.

"Seriously, Rory," I said. "He is gone pretty much all the time. It would've been nice, you know? To have a dad type around,"

"Max would never replace – "

"There's nothing to replace when he's never here," I said, and we fell into silence. Not an angry one – we had had this conversation far too often for that to occur. Just trying to understand where the other was coming from. I didn't understand her dedication to a man who, bar a few random visits over the years, had basically abandoned us.

Rory took ages picking out the perfect folder, as was typical for her. Most of our trip continued in silence, which wasn't too unusual for us. We finally got out of the store and started to head home.

"Hey,"

I looked up to see Jess was walking beside me.

"Hey yourself," I said with a grin.

"What are you doing out here?"

I held up my new sketchbook. Rory indicated she would walk ahead, also nodding a hello at Jess.

"What about you? Being a hoodlum?" at his questioning look, I explained, "Taylor's new nickname for you. It really is straight out of the 50's,"

He grinned. "So what are you doing now?"

"Draw and then do some homework that was due last week," I shrugged. "I'm a procrastinator by nature. It drives my mother insane."

"I have something for you," he said, making my heart jump. I saw a copy of _Howl_ in his hands.

"You bought me a book I already have,"

"This is yours,"

"You stole my book," I said with amusement.

"Nope, borrowed it," he corrected.

I laughed. "Sure, that's what we'll call it,"

He handed me the book and said, "I just wanted to put some notes in the margins for you,"

"What?" I looked through the book to see notes on every page. "How many times have you read this to have such in depth notes?"

"About forty times," he confessed.

"And you said you didn't read much. First Oscar Wilde, now this?" I was impressed.

"Goodnight Ava," he said, apparently determined to keep that air of mystery up.

"Goodnight Dodger," I teased.

"Dodger?" he questioned.

"Think about it," I said as I walked away.

"Oliver Twist," he called after me, making me grin.


	2. Christopher & Perfect Little Debutantes

Whenever I think about Christopher, aka the man who impregnated my mother, my eighth birthday comes to mind. Mom had a full day of celebrations planned, as was typical. Rory's and my actual birthday party was going to be the next day, an extravaganza that in coming years the cops would shut down. Christopher had called the week before, and promised to come and spend the day with us.

I was a total daddy's girl back then. Every visit I was eager to hear stories about his life, to tell him all about mine and insist on being seated beside him for meals. I settled myself down by the window early that morning, and waited for him to come. Mom and Rory realised by noon that he wasn't coming.

"Come on, Ava, we have birthday celebrations to get to," Mom said, trying to sound upbeat.

"We can't go yet," I protested. "Dad's on his way,"

"I'll give him a call, okay?" she said, exchanging worried looks with Rory.

He didn't answer his phone. So I sat at that window all day, refusing to leave or celebrate my birthday when Dad had to be on his way. I eventually fell asleep, my head leaning against the glass. I woke up briefly when Mom picked me up to put me into bed.

"Is Dad here yet?" I asked sleepily.

"No," she said soothingly, but I could detect her anger at him beneath the surface. "Go back to sleep, baby,"

"Will you wake me up when he gets here?"

She didn't answer, but I was asleep before I could ask why.

There are more examples of this, of broken promises and tantrums thrown later when I learned he would once again be absent from significant events. Eventually, I stopped asking if he would be coming and started seeing him for who he really was – and it wasn't my dad. He may have fathered me, but he was so sporadic in actually being there that it was easier to just pretend he didn't exist.

Rory understood earlier than I did that Christopher wouldn't come the majority of the times he said he would. More of than not he turned up when we least expected it, random days when he 'wanted to see his girls'. Rory was aware of it, but ignored it. It would be easier for Mom and Rory if I followed suit. Maybe I am more like Grandma than I thought, because I can sure hold a grudge. Grandma just ignores it when it comes to Christopher because she has delusions about a big society wedding.

So you can imagine my delight to learn he was coming for a visit.

I impatiently waited for Luke to take my order as Mom read over something of Rory's. I ignored my sister's usual 'it sucks' routine, sighing and wishing a certain boy would come downstairs. He'd intrigued me, especially after I had started to read the notes he had left for me in _Howl_. Who knew something so insightful would come in such a surly, bad boy package? I didn't tell Rory. It was one of the books we shared and she would kill me if she found out one of her precious books had been written in.

"Thank God," I said as Luke came over and started serving us coffee.

"Okay what do you want? Eggs, toast, combo?" he fired at us.

"What's the rush there, zippy?" Mom asked.

"I'm just swamped this morning. I was supposed to have help," he said, indicating to upstairs. "But I don't, so order right now or I'm bringing you all an egg white omelette with steamed spinach,"

"Bacon and eggs," I said, panicked.

"Pancakes," Mom said, sounding horrified.

"French toast," Rory spoke up.

"Thank you," he said, only to turn as the boy I couldn't get out of my head finally came downstairs.

"Jess, you were supposed to be down here…" he trailed off, noticing Jess' Metallica t-shirt. "What the hell is that?"

"What?"

"That," Luke said, pointing to the shirt as if it had killed a puppy. I settled back. This would be entertaining.

"That is a shirt," Jess explained.

"Change," Luke said bluntly.

"What?"

"Go upstairs and change your shirt,"

"I like this shirt,"

"How can you like this shirt?"

"It brings out my eyes," Jess said with the utmost sarcasm. I hid my grin behind my coffee mug.

"Hey, part of the deal of you staying here is that you work here," Luke said. "When you work here you will wear proper work attire, and that is not proper work attire. Now go upstairs and change into something that won't scare the hell out of my customers."

"Whatever you say, Uncle Luke," Jess responded, making sure the 'uncle Luke' was exceedingly mocking.

"Gross t-shirt," Mom commented.

"Yeah," Rory agreed.

"Good band," I added.

"Oh yeah," Rory and Mom agreed.

That afternoon, I was lounging on the sofa reading when Rory came in.

"I'm coming out," she blurted out. I looked up, confused, as she headed to the kitchen.

"Out of what?" I heard Mom asked, distracted. I got up and followed Rory.

"Out into society,"

"Wow, that sounds worse than Die Hard 2," I said.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" she asked, looking up from the textbook she had been highlighting.

"I went to Grandma's house after school,"

"Okay, right away bad," Mom said, now actively listening.

"Well, her DAR friends are all there, they're talking about the Debutante Ball that is being thrown."

"Oh no," Mom said, her face mirroring the horror I was sure was on my own.

"When I got back from Grandpa's office, they all invited me onto the patio,"

"Why on earth would you go onto the patio?" I asked dramatically. "Nothing good can come from a patio full of society women,"

"Amen to that sister," Mom said. "Going out onto the patio is like accepting the position as the drummer in Spinal Tap, " Mom said, and I nodded.

"Before I knew it, Grandma was telling me how important it is for a person to be properly presented to society,"

Mom and I let out an identical grossed out groan.

"And how every young girl dreams of this day,"

Again, we groaned.

"And how there are flowers," she said, her voice lessening with enthusiasm.

"Oh Lord," Mom groaned.

"And music," Rory continued.

"Please," I scoffed, not even wanting to think about what those ladies thought constituted good music.

"And cake," Rory said, sounding completely unenthused. This however, perked Mom right up.

"Oh yeah, the cake's actually good,"

"I tried on your old dress," Rory added.

Mom shook her head and got up. I turned to her, trusting that she would get Rory out of this nightmare. Poor naïve Rory.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Getting you out of this,"

"Go, Mom," I said supportively. Rory sent me a look. "Come on Rory, let her get you out of this,"

"Mom, wait," she said as our mother began to dial.

"I swear, my mother is great at getting someone to agree to agree to something that in any other universe they would never consider,"

"Especially Rory," I added.

"Ava," Rory said, sounding exasperated.

"I am convinced she had something to do with Lily Tomlin doing that movie with John Travolta," Mom ranted.

"I'm doing this," Rory interrupted, taking the phone off Mom.

"Why?" Mom said, genuinely confused.

"Because you should've seen the look on Grandma's face when she asked me," Rory said. "It's just really, really important to her."

"But - - " Mom began.

"Now if it's that important to her, and not important to me, then why shouldn't I do it?"

Damn it, this was the reason I was known as the bitchy one.

"Rory, do you know what a coming out party says?" Mom asked.

"I'm here, I'm queer, get over it?" I suggested.

"Well queer sister, it actually says 'I'm a woman now'," Rory corrected me.

"No, it says: 'Hi, I'm of good breeding and marriageable age…" Mom started to rant, relating it to animals.

"I wonder why she didn't ask me?" I asked sarcastically.

"She did say something along the lines of you wearing a mini dress just to spite her," Rory admitted.

I smirked. "What do you know, the woman does know me,"

"_Anyway,_ I made a promise," Rory continued. "But you guys don't have to be a part of it if you don't want to."

"Sweet," I said satisfied, bringing my book back up to read and started heading for the living room.

"Look, if you really want to do it, we'll help," Mom said quickly. I dropped my book back down and turned back, horrified.

"Mom!" I protested.

"We'll support you, Rory," Mom said, giving me a look, making me sigh heavily. "It's just weird. This is all the stuff I ran away from, I just assumed you'd be running with me."

"I'll run with you," I said passionately, desperate to get out of this. When she didn't respond, I tried, "Join us uncivilised ladies, Rory," I said enticingly. "I don't think debutantes have pizza on their side…"

Mom laughed. "Well, if you're sure, where do we start?"

"Well, there's the dowry," I said. "Conservatively, I can see you going for at least three goats,"

"Hey, they add a couple of chickens to that and they have themselves a deal," Mom added.

Rory looked up from the booklet Grandma had given us on the ball, her face pale.

"What is it?" I asked, concerned.

"It says your father is supposed to present you at the ceremony,"

"Oh," Mom said quietly, the mood immediately going downhill. Christopher's track record didn't exactly commend him for the fatherly roles.

"Whatever, I can get someone else to do it,"

"Rory," Mom said sympathetically.

"Grandpa, probably," Rory continued. "Or Taylor,"

"Okay," Mom said, trying to calm her down.

"Or the cable guy, he looked friendly last week. He may have a tux."

"Hand me the phone, Ava," Mom said with a smile.

"Why?" I asked, moving it out of her grasp. I had a feeling she wasn't calling Grandma.

"Look, there are many things that should weird Rory out about coming out but inviting your father shouldn't be one of them,"

"He won't come," I said bluntly. "Or he'll say he will and then bail. That's what Christopher does."

"Ava," Mom sighed.

"What? Am I wrong here? Don't you think it would have been nice to have your dad around on Father's Day or your birthday or pretty much any other significant day? But Christopher doesn't. Rory would have better luck with the cable guy."

"Hey!" Mom warned me.

I thrust the phone at her and stormed into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I hated how much it bothered me, the idea of Christopher coming to town. The last time he had come, it had earned us a meeting with his parents who clearly wished Rory and I had never been born. And that was one of the good Christopher visits.

I blasted some music and sketched angrily, too wound up to draw as I blocked out the rest of the world. I knew Mom would be calling him.

"He's coming,"

I ignored Rory as she came in and turned off the music.

"He's in Boston now," she continued. "But Mom says he's definitely going to come,"

She was so excited, I just couldn't understand it. How was she considered the smart one again?

"Great," I said dully.

"He does love us, you know he does," she said, sitting at the end of my bed.

"No, Rory, I really don't know that," I said, not cruel, just honest. "Mom loves us. Hell, even Grandma and Grandpa do. But Christopher sure as hell hasn't shown that."

"You should call him Dad," she said sullenly, returning to her own bed.

"I'll call him Dad when he starts acting like one," I retorted, moving over and turning the music back on. Rory glared at me, but I just returned to my drawing.

Unfortunately, debutante fever had officially taken over the Crap Shack. So I had retreated to the front porch, sitting on the front step and sketching to try and avoid the mania. Rory, Dean and Lane were inside watching Neil Young in a tux. Yeah, Dean was pretty hot. But Neil Young cool? A horn beeped and I frowned as I saw Christopher get out of the car.

Rory came flying out of the house. "Dad! Dad!"

Mom followed behind her, standing a bit back as Rory eagerly approached him.

"Whoa! Hold it. A lady never runs out to meet a gentleman caller who hasn't been announced," he joked.

"Sorry, we haven't tamed my wild ways yet,"

"Thank God I'm here now,"

I snorted as they hugged.

"I missed you," Rory said.

"Me, too,"

He had a funny way of showing it.

"Hey," Mom approached the pair, and they looked every bit the happy family. I looked down at the tornado I had been drawing, that was threating to swallow Stars Hollow whole.

Mom started mocking his car, which was a new addition considering he had always been very devoted to his motorbikes.

"And this is for you," Dad presented Rory with a gigantic book.

"The Compact Oxford English Dictionary!" she said, thrilled.

"I promised you,"

I felt my face flush with anger and embarrassment, remembering when he hadn't been able to pay for his gifts from the bookstore for Rory and me.

"Sorry it took so long," he continued.

"That's okay," Rory hurried to assure him.

"On the bright side, this is the new addition," he said. "The old one wouldn't have the word 'jiggy' in it."

Rory flew inside to look words up in it immediately.

"Hey stranger," he called to me, and I scowled.

"No hug for your old Dad?"

"I don't know _Christopher_," I said, and his face immediately fell. "I wasn't exactly expecting you to show up,"

"Ouch," he said quietly. "I got something for you too. Those pencils you were just dying to get?"

I got up. "No, thank you,"

"Ava," Mom said warningly.

"What?" I snapped. "It's not appropriate for me to accept gifts from a virtual stranger." I sent the hurt Christopher a glare. "I'm going for a walk,"

"Ava Leigh Gilmore!" Mom shouted as I walked away from them.

I ignored her as I stormed off, heading straight for my usual respite.

Jess was there when I arrived. I didn't say anything to him. I sat on the other side, facing the opposite direction and started to draw.

It was fifteen minutes before either of us spoke.

"So, drama at the Gilmore house?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you look like you're about to stab someone with your pencil,"

"My father has made an appearance for Rory's debutante ball," I said bitterly. "They're all back there playing happy families,"

"And you're not," he said, coming over and sitting beside me. I put my sketchbook down and shrugged. "You have daddy issues?"

"I have lack of a daddy issues," I said, irritated. "He shows up rarely and whenever he does, the Lorelai's roll out the welcome wagon. It makes me sick."

Jess nodded.

"Well what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your dad situation?"

"Took off years ago," he shrugged.

"Sucks," I said.

"Yeah, well, Liz is no prize either,"

"Neither's Christopher," I said. "So, read anything good lately?"

"Well…."

After a few hours with Jess debating books, the sun started to go down and I sighed. It was easy to chat with him, to forget about Christopher's arrival in town. But I had to face the music sometime.

"Better head home before Mom sends out the search party,"

"Yeah, knowing your mother she probably would," Jess said, offering me a hand up. Surprised, I accepted. He pulled me up, and all of a sudden we were closer than we'd ever been. A faint scent of cigarettes and aftershave hit me, and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Jess…" I began.

"I better go," he said, giving me a grin and walking away. My heart was pounding. I shook my head to clear it and made my way home, completely distracted.

My mother was waiting for me on the front porch. I was surprised that she didn't seem angry. Just sad.

"Hey," she said as I approached.

"Hey," I said, taking a seat on the porch swing. She rose from the step and moved to sit beside me.

"He's making an effort," she said. "I understand where this anger is coming from…"

"Do you?" I interrupted. "Because it seems like I'm the bad guy for acknowledging all the shitty stuff he's done,"

"Language," she warned.

"He managed to turn up this time," I said. "That's great for Rory."

"And for you too," she said. "He wanted to talk to you…"

"I don't want to talk to him," I said quickly. "Thought I'd made that pretty clear,"

"I just…. I don't want you to have all this anger inside you,"

"You're not the one who's caused it, Mom," I said honestly. "And you can't change the fact that Christopher hasn't been interested for the past sixteen years,"

She didn't bother to deny it. "He loves you,"

"I don't want to be around him," I said. "I'm guessing he's crashing on the couch?"

She nodded. "Rory really wants him here, Ava," she sounded anguished. "If I ask him to leave, it hurts her. If I let him stay, it hurts you."

I sighed. "Who are we kidding, Mom. Let's just do what we always do. Perfect Rory deserves to have her perfect dad around. I'll just hide out in my room until he's gone."

I was making my way through town, having enjoyed a coffee and brief conversation with Jess at Luke's. I made my way over to the gazebo, wondering just how badly Rory and Dean were going. I'm sorry, but it was a little funny, okay? They had practiced a little at home, before Mom had quickly called Miss Patty to teach them the required dances.

Seeing my parents dance, perfectly in tune with each other, made me stop in my tracks. I stared until the song ended, and they were applauded. I quickly turned and walked away. _Please don't let Mom fall for this. _

The fact that Mom had gotten Christopher to stay in a hotel was beyond surprising. Rory hadn't been thrilled, but hadn't said anything to me thankfully. He was still around a lot, and I often caught him looking at me like he wanted to say something. He never did, so I just avoided the house as much as possible. Even when I was home, I kept myself hidden away in my bedroom. However, these things couldn't be avoided forever, and the day of Rory's cotillion was upon us. Rory, Mom and I arrived, looking around at our opulent surroundings. Mom and I were already dressed to the nines, but Rory was still dressed casually and had her dress ready to put on out the back with the other debutantes.

"Wow, this place is huge," Rory said in awe. She looked at the staircase. "Do I have to walk down those stairs?"

"I'm afraid so," Mom replied. "Unless you want to make a really memorable entrance and slide down the banister, which I totally encourage by the way,"

"Me too," I said. "Seriously, good money involved if this happens,"

A haughty looking lady approached us. "You are…"

"Lorelai Gilmore," Rory answered.

"…late," the lady informed her strictly. How were we late? It didn't start for another hour and a half.

"Sorry, my fault," Mom quickly said. "Took me awhile to get pretty. Not all of us are sixteen anymore," she indicated to Rory and I. "You know what I mean?" At her death glare, Mom realised, "No."

"You are to head up the stairs. The preparation room is on the right." The lady informed Rory.

"Look out for the toxic cloud of Chanel and Final Net," Mom said. Rory followed the lady up the stairs, leaving Mom and I alone.

"So…" I said, and Mom turned to me. "How much bribery is it going to take for you to let me have some champagne?"

"In front of the grandparents?" Mom snorted, leading me to the bar where I was forced to get a soda. "Good luck. Besides, do _you_ really want the three hour lecture on alcohol and safe choices?"

I winced. "It would totally lead into a safe sex talk, wouldn't it?"

"Which would lead into another five hour lecture…" she said as we arrived at the bar. She ordered a cocktail. She got served and said, "You are a wonderful, wonderful man. I have a feeling we're going to be very close tonight,"

"I hate you," I muttered, sipping on my Coke with a frown. "Come on Mom, just vodka this up a bit,"

"Hey, I got you out of this," she said. "Mini dress or no, Mom totally wanted the twin act going on. I've already earned my mother of the year crown,"

Grandma suddenly appeared, causing Mom to choke slightly.

"Mom, you're here," she said, sounding slightly surprised.

"Hello Ava," she said coolly, clearly not too pleased with me for not joining Rory in the ball. "And where should I be, Lorelai, Spain?"

"I tried calling you all night last night," Mom said, much to my surprise. I had been hidden away, so I had completely missed why my mother of all people would be desperate to get in touch with Emily Gilmore.

"I was very busy," Grandma said.

"And then we got here before you," Mom continued.

"What is your point, Lorelai?"

"Nothing, it's just weird,"

I was starting to feel really uncomfortable. I had thought I would get the full on guilt trip from Grandma, not the ice queen.

"Well, I'm here now so it's not weird anymore," she said, looking away. "Look at these flowers, baby's breath. What is this, County General?"

"You look really nice Grandma," I said meekly.

I was ignored, as she ranted, "Cotton tablecloths, folding chairs. It's not supposed to be like this. In my day, people sat in real chairs."

"Mom, is this about Ava not wanting to do the ball?" Mom asked cautiously.

"No, I'm perfectly aware this isn't 'Ava's thing' as you informed me," she said. "Despite its importance to me. I wanted Rory to be presented to society in a beautiful, elegant ballroom, not a Shakey's!"

"The room is beautiful, Mom, you're being too critical,"

"There's Nan," Grandma said, sounding like pure evil. "I'm going to have a little talk with her about the proper height for a taper,"

She walked away, her target in sight.

"Okay, how did she manage to say 'proper height for a taper' and make it sound like 'I'm going to murder someone'?" I said, astonished.

"Well hon, I don't think this is about you," she said. "I think Emily Gilmore has much bigger fish to fry…"

Mom and I soon got stuck talking to women discussing inane things like their daughter's trip to fat camp when Christopher approached.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt," he turned to Mom. "Could you come with me? My cummerbund and aren't seeing eye to eye,"

"Men, totally helpless, excuse me,"

Before I could make a decision whether to be bored to death by these women or endure the company of my father, Mom grabbed my hand and pulled me along with her.

"You saved me, I love you, I want to have your babies," she said. "Oops, too late,"

_Someone else to abandon?_ I thought, watching glasses of champagne go by and wishing desperately one was in my own hand.

"So, having a good time Ava?" Christopher asked and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's a debutante ball," I said. "There are about fifty million places I would rather be right now."

"Right," he laughed awkwardly. Sensing my mother's distressed look, I excused myself and hid in the bathroom, hoping that by the time I got out, he would be backstage with Rory.

Mom was waiting at the mirror when I finally emerged.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully, looking at me.

"What?" I sighed.

"Oh, I just thought if you drowned in there, your hair would be soaked,"

"Ha, ha," I said dully.

"Your dad is back with Rory, so you can come out of hiding, Anne Frank," Mom quipped.

"This isn't funny," I hissed, and she looked at me in surprise. "I see the way you're looking at him, Mom,"

"Ava…" she said. "I like having him around, okay?"

"Fine," I said icily, channelling my inner Emily. "We better get out there. I'd just hate to miss Rory's debut into society."

We sat silently at the table, and I was surprised when the speeches started and the grandparents weren't yet seated. Mom got up to see what was going on. I got startled as I heard my grandfather started yelling 'to hell with society'. Freaked, I saw Mom drag them both out of the room.

Uncomfortable, I could hear the faint yelling from the room. I went to get up, but Mom turned and motioned for me to sit back down. Reluctantly, I sank back down, but kept an eye on the argument going on between my grandparents. They returned to the room but not the table as Rory was presented like a proper society girl, and Dad looking the proper society father.

_Stuff it._ I grabbed a glass of champagne off the table and sat back as my sister humiliated herself with a fan dance.

Since my family didn't return to the table and I already had a glass in my hand, the waiter kept refilling it. Soon, I was quietly laughing to myself about the pure ridiculousness of the debutantes, and got up to go to the bathroom. I stumbled and fell over, and suddenly Mom was beside me.

"You okay?" she asked, concerned, then frowned.

"I'm fine," I said, stumbling a bit as I got up. "I tripped,"

"Have you been drinking?" she said incredulously.

"What else was I supposed to do when you left me alone with these people?" I snapped.

She quickly steered me outside into the cold night air. "Are you kidding me with this? You're sixteen!"

"What, like you didn't drink at my age?" I retorted.

"I also got pregnant at your age with twins, would you like to re-enact _that_ behaviour?" she retorted. She got out her cell phone and made a call, as I leaned against the wall of the building and looked at the stars.

Rory, Dean and Dad came outside, the dancing have finished a little earlier. Nobody said a word to me, as Rory guided me to the car and we drove in silence back to Stars Hollow.

"Ava, bed, now," Mom barked.

I poked my tongue out at her and headed inside, still pretty content in my drunkenness. I was surprised, however, when Christopher followed me inside.

"What do you want?" I asked bluntly as I entered my bedroom.

"I'm heading home tomorrow,"

"Boston, right?" I said without meaning to.

"Right," he said. "I just wanted to talk to you before I go. I want to come by more. I know I haven't been around a lot – "

"Wow, understatement," I laughed. "Look, do whatever you want, okay? Rory and Mom want you around…" I paused, then glared at him. "You're not going to jerk Mom around again are you?"

"I have a girlfriend in Boston," he said.

"Good," I nodded. "Is it serious?"

"Getting there,"

"Well, feel free to stay in Boston with…"

"Sherrie,"

"Feel free to stay with Sherrie, Christopher," I said.

"Do you really hate me that much?" he asked, sounding hurt.

I sighed. "It's easier when you stay away. When you're here… you just take off again. You always do," I wiped my eyes, annoyed at the tears. "I better get to bed before Mom kills me."

"I'm gonna be around more, okay?" he said. "Boston is not that far away."

"Just go spend time with Rory and Mom," I said. "Perfect little family right there, right?"

"It's a family of four, kiddo," he said softly. "Not three,"

He walked out before I could respond. I sat down on my bed.

"It's a family of three," I murmured. Rory, Mom and me. Rory, Christopher and Mom.

I just wanted everything to back to normal.

The group headed for a walk, towards Luke's I imagined. I sighed and got into my pyjamas, ready to read something to take my mind off everything. I was startled by a knock on my window.

"Jess?" I said, surprised. Oh no, this wasn't good. Drunk Ava should not be around cute Jess.

"Hey," he grinned. "Let me in?"

"You could have come through the front door you know," I said, helping him in. "They all just went out,"

"I know,"

"What?"

"I saw them leave,"

"Then why the window?"

He shrugged. "Adds mystery,"

I laughed. "You're such a dork," I spontaneously gave him a hug.

"Someone been drinking?"

"No," I said, then grinned sheepishly. "Maybe,"

"Ava Gilmore," he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"What else can I do at a debutante ball?" I said, pouting. His eyes lingered on my mouth for a moment, then he took a step back toward the window.

"I should get going,"

"You just got here," I said, confused.

"I find that hanging with someone generally goes better if both are drunk, or both are sober," he said, climbing back out.

"Hey!" I said, and he poked his head in. "Next time, both drunk?"

He gave me a smile and slipped back into the darkness. I plopped onto my bed. Drunk Ava and Drunk Jess? Either a really, really bad idea or a really, really good one.


	3. Insanity and New Friendships

"Rise and shine!" Mom chirped as she threw open my bedroom door.

"Ugh," I groaned as I cracked an eye open. My head was pounding as Mom threw open the curtains and I winced as I was blinded by the morning light.

"Aw, hung over?" she said knowingly, and with very little sympathy might I add.

I pulled my pillow over my face in response, which was instantly stolen by my mother.

"It's the weekend!" I complained.

"I'm sorry, did you think after that stunt you pulled that today would be yours?" she asked, I assumed rhetorically, with her hands on her hips. "Now up!"

"I'm sorry,' I said, using my best puppy dog eyes. She gave me a sceptical look, and I gave up. "Okay, I'm not. What is the big deal? It's not like anyone even noticed."

"I noticed," she said with annoyance. "Your sister noticed, as did your father. Now get out of bed, Barney Gumble,"

"I'm sorry you had to leave early," I said furiously at the mention of Christopher. Like I cared in any way what he thought of me. "But you left me here and you all had some family time. Evil rebel daughter out of sight, out of mind, right?"

She sighed and sat down beside me. "Why did you drink, Ava?"

I shrugged.

"Hey, a real answer please," she said.

"I don't belong there, Mom,"

"I don't either, and I wasn't drunk,"

"Not for a lack of trying," I muttered, and she sent me a warning look.

"Is this about Christopher?" she asked after a moment, her voice uncharacteristically soft.

"Nothing I do is about Christopher," I scowled.

"He wants to be around more,"

"That's nice," I said, my voice heavy with sarcasm. "And you believe him, do you?"

"I'm not going to force you into becoming Daddy's little girl," she said, getting up. "But you're going to have to learn how to deal with him being around,"

"I'll deal with it if he actually shows up, how's that?" I snapped, pulling the blankets over my head. She pulled them off and looked down at me with that disappointed expression that was somehow worse than her ranting.

"Alright, time to get up," she said. "And you owe your sister an apology,"

"I am not apologising to Rory," I said flatly.

* * *

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"What was that, Silent Bob?" Mom said, nudging me to repeat myself. Rory looked at me quizzically.

"Sorry if my drinking ruined your night," I said dully. The threat of being grounded for either two weeks if I apologised versus being grounded _until _I apologised (either way I was facing at least two weeks) made me grit my teeth and say I was sorry.

"No problem," Rory said, and I sensed her surprise that I had said sorry. Mom nodded in approval as she headed to the counter to hassle Luke for more coffee. Basically, I was to be attached to my mother's side for the next two weeks, unless I was at school. I was sure she was hoping I would crack and tell her all my problems in life. Oh well, at least Jess wasn't here to see my humiliation.

"Nice grovelling," a voice remarked behind me, and I jumped as Jess walked past me.

"God," I called. "You need a bell or something,"

He sent me a smirk as he headed upstairs. Rory raised her eyebrows at our exchange but didn't say anything. I was the only Gilmore, and one of the select few in town, that Jess deigned to speak to.

"Are you still mad at Dad?"

I really wasn't in the mood to get into this _again._ "Wonder what the hold up is on the pancakes," I said, changing the subject.

Rory merely sighed and we waited in silence for our mother to return.

I spent that day alphabetising a bunch of files at the Inn, my mother being called in to handle some emergency Michel just could handle because of 'how stupid the people were'. I had been eager to egg Michel on, but Mom had quickly directed me to the office to sort through the files. At home that evening, I got the joy of being at my mother's beck and call.

* * *

I sat at Luke's the next morning, dying to get to school and away from the insanity of one Lorelai Gilmore. Rory was already on her bus on the way to school, whereas I was enjoying my last bit of coffee before heading to Stars Hollow High.

Mom and Luke were discussing some business stuff to do with Mom organising her inn with Sookie, and I watched, amused, as a tourist raised her mug for more coffee to Jess and he just ignored her. I looked down at my book again.

"I'm terrible at coming up with names," Mom said, getting my attention. "When we first bought the house, the girls and I wanted to name it, you know, like Jefferson named his place Montecello…"

"And all we could come up with was the Crap Shack," I said without looking up from my book.

"Nice," Luke nodded.

"Coffee?" Jess appeared, refilling my mom's cup and providing me with my usual to go cup, without me even having to ask.

"Well, don't I feel special?" I smirked, and he shrugged.

"So how are you, Jess?" Mom asked, purely because I was always on her case to try and be nice to him. I enjoyed Jess' good looks and got along with him, but he tended to hang with a different group at school and the only time I got to really speak to him were the odd occasions at Luke's or on the bridge. I'd been too awkward to bring up the whole 'both of us drunk next time' thing yet. That was weird within itself – Ava Gilmore was not the shy twin, that was for sure. The boy liked to be mysterious too – I had no idea what he thought about me.

"Well, I'm not bleeding or anything," he said, and I shot him a look. I had also tried to get him to be more polite to Mom.

"Well, then it's gonna be a good day, huh?" Mom said, giving me a look that basically said _see why I don't bother?_

"7:45," Jess said abruptly to his uncle.

"So?" Luke prompted.

"So do you want me to go to school, or do you want to openly defy child labour laws?" he said.

"Go," Luke said.

I grabbed my to go cup. "I better go too, see you later,"

"Bye hon," Mom called as Jess and I walked out.

"Freedom," I said with elation, making Jess laugh.

"How long does the imprisonment continue?" he asked.

"One day into my two week sentence," I said with a groan. "Next time, I think I might try not to get caught,"

"So there's a next time?"

I sensed he was hinting about what I had said to him during my drunkenness.

I grinned. "I did promise a drunk Jess and drunk Ava, right?"

"You did," he nodded and as I headed towards school, he started to veer off in a different direction. "Later,"

"Hey!" I called. He turned and looked at me. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," he called back. I shrugged and headed into school. While I wasn't completely devoted to studying like my twin sister was, it was rare I skipped class. I enjoyed art and English and tolerated the rest. I wasn't Ivy League bound like Rory, but I was determined to actually get out of this town and do something. Anything, really.

I was a floater at school. I was kind of mid to high in terms of popularity, because I got along with pretty much everyone. But I didn't have a best friend or anything, nothing like the connection between Rory and Lane. When I had told my mother I didn't belong at that fancy ball, I could just as easily been talking about the halls of Stars Hollow High. The difference was, here I had learned how to fake it, how to gossip to the right people and how to just float around the groups and be accepted.

So I did my schoolwork and devoted my time to reading and my art. I just existed in this place. Living would come later, right? I headed to my locker, saying hey to a few people as I went.

"Ava Gilmore," Ms Geist stuck her head out of the guidance office, her frizzy hair taking up more space than her actual head. "May I speak with you, dear?"

"Uh, sure," I said with surprise. I tried to think of any recent sarcastic remarks I may have made in class. I sat down across from her at her desk. "What's up?"

"You were out sick the other week when the others met with me to talk colleges," she said. I had had the flu, and been pretty wrecked. I had forgotten all about the meeting I had missed. "So what are you interested in, Ava?"

"I'd like to study English," I said confidently. "With some art electives if possible. I know I don't have any hopes of an Ivy League or anything, but hopefully I can end up somewhere decent."

"Well your grades are great," she said. "And we'll know more once you do your PSATs, which aren't too far away! You definitely have the chance of a decent college, however your extracurriculars are a bit thin, dear,"

"Oh!" I said in surprise.

"You're in the Art Club, the Book Club," she read off my file. "I know we get into these things early, with next year being your senior year. But before you know it, it'll be time for college!"

"Well, I also contribute to many town events," I said, remembering all the times my mother had signed me up alongside Rory and often Lane to volunteer.

"You just need something a bit extra," she said. "How about the school paper?"

My jaw dropped. That was completely Rory's thing. She had dominated it while she had been here and had moved on to even greater things at Chilton. The grandparents still talked about the pavement piece.

"I don't know," I said hesitantly. "It's not really…"

"I understand it's what your twin sister was involved with," she said, surprisingly sympathetic. "And I know you girls were quite keen to separate yourselves as individuals. But I was talking with your English teacher, Mr Grozny, and he said you have great potential in your writing, Ava. And this could be just the thing to push you over the line."

I sighed heavily. _Anything to get out of this town._ "When do they meet?"

Seriously, I was never telling Mom or Rory about this. The last thing I needed was another thing to compare me to my perfect sister.

* * *

After school, I was walking along with my head in a book when the sound of a siren made me look up. My jaw dropped at the sight of police cars and fire trucks parked outside of Doose's. I suspiciously looked around for Jess. What the hell had he been up to?

I walked up to see Taylor freaking out and bit my lip to hold back my laughter as I saw there had been a chalk outline of a body drawn onto the sidewalk, surrounded by police tape. I stood beside Dean, who was part of the small crowd.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey Ava," he nodded. "Crazy, huh?"

"What's going on?" Rory asked, as she and Lane joined us.

"I don't know, I got here and this is what I found," Dean explained. "I mean, I told him it looked fake but he didn't believe me."

"Oh, it's fake," I grinned. This was _gold._ If Mom didn't hate Jess so much, she would love whoever could make Taylor freak out like this.

Rory's eyes widened. "Ava…"

"Was with me working on a project," Lane interrupted.

"I'll pay you fifty for the alibi later," I nodded, and she laughed because it was true, we had been working on a science project together.

We turned in time to Sadie, one of the town's police officers, say, "Looks like this is just an elaborate prank,"

Of course Taylor was off on a rant again, and as I turned to say goodbye to Lane, I spotted Jess across the street, leaning casually against a lamppost. He spotted me and smiled. I grinned back, and quickly headed over to him.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he responded.

"You've really earned the title of town delinquent today,"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Just try and keep that air of mystery alive, bad boy," I teased. "That's too bad that it wasn't you then,"

"Why's that?" he asked, sounding disinterested.

"Whoever pissed Taylor Doose off like that is my personal hero," I said. "Full Wind Beneath My Wings kind of material. I'd be like their slave, so devoted in my thanks." I shrugged. "But hey, it wasn't you…"

He laughed, leading me towards the bridge. "Gotta be something a bit manlier than Wind Beneath My Wings for that epic prank,"

"Got a rep to maintain, huh?"

I got a _duh_ look in reply.

"Don't worry, the hair gel isn't making anyone wonder… at all…" I teased, dashing off, daring him to chase me. I couldn't help but smirk when he did.

* * *

Mia's arrival in town had put us all in a joyful mood, so my grounding was lifted and by the time of the town meeting all was good in the world. It was always awesome to see Mia. She was like the kind, wonderful Grandma who didn't judge you. A description which, let's face it, did not match up with Emily.

It was weird, because we arrived on time for a change and the meeting had already began. Apparently, there was a 'Jess situation'. Mom, Rory and Mia sat down. Luke paced and I remained standing by the door as Taylor listed Jess' wrongs.

"The charges against your nephew are numerous," Taylor informed Luke. "He stole the 'Save the Bridge' money,"

"He gave that back," Luke said quickly.

"He stole a gnome from Babette's garden," Taylor continued.

"Pierpont was also returned,"

"He hooted at one of my dance classes," Miss Patty said.

"He took a garden hose from my yard," Fran put in.

"My son said he set off the fire alarms at school last week," Andrew spoke up. Ha, yeah that'd been a good day. We all got to chill outside while all the teachers freaked out.

"I heard he controls the weather and wrote the screenplay to _Glitter_," Mom mocked, and I couldn't but smile at her. I was glad that even Mom, who was definitely not Jess' biggest fan, could see how ridiculous the town was being.

Yeah, Jess was being a bit of a pain in the ass. But seriously, to have a town meeting like this? What if it was me acting like this? Would I be evicted from Stars Hollow like a demented episode of Big Brother?

An argument between Bootsy and Luke broke out, continuing from first grade. Taylor broke it up by bringing it back to Jess, saying Stars Hollow was a better place before he got here. I couldn't disagree more. Life was so much more interesting with Jess around.

Luke defended himself, reminding the town of how he had lived there his whole life and didn't get in the way of anyone else doing what they wanted to do. Taylor asked what his point was.

"His point is you are all butting your noses in where it's not needed!" I snapped, and the entire town swivelled around to look at me in surprise. Besides the occasional sarcastic comment, I didn't speak at town meetings. "He's pulled a few pranks, big deal. What are you all planning on doing, storm Luke's diner with fire and pitchforks and demand that Jess leave town? You are all being completely ridiculous!"

"Oh, someone's got a crush," Miss Patty murmured.

"We all see them chatting it up at Luke's," someone said.

"Defending her boyfriend, then?"

Completely sick of the room at large, I stormed out as Luke told the town he was done with them.

"Hey, Ava!" Luke called. I stopped and turned.

"Thanks for doing that," he said sincerely.

"They're insane," I said simply. "You don't deserve that. And he's my friend, you know?"

"Yeah, well, he's a pain in the ass," Luke said bluntly. "But he's family,"

"I got your back, Jack," I grinned, and he smiled back. "Night, Luke,"

"Night,"

I started to walk home, and I started feeling annoyed at Jess. Luke was a good guy, he didn't need this kind of crap. Some jokes were funny (such as the body outline) but stealing a garden hose from Fran wasn't.

* * *

I wasn't surprised when Jess wasn't at school. He was really loving this whole Rebel Without A Cause mystique he had going on. School went by faster than normal, mostly because I was dreading that afternoon.

I entered the news room (an old classroom converted, with five computers and printers) and Emily, the editor smiled at me. I had spoken with her earlier that day, expressing my interest in the paper.

"You need more extracurriculars, huh?" she said wryly.

"Yeah," I admitted.

"We meet after school today," she said with a smile. "Come on by, we could always use more writers,"

So I had come by and was surprised by how friendly everyone was. Maybe because of how Rory had described her battle with Paris, I had expected some adversity. I was given an opinion piece on the school's art program (which actually was pretty good) to do, and like that, I started writing for the paper.

After the meeting, I gave into my craving for Red Vines and headed for Doose's to stock up.

Jess approached the store at the same time I did.

"Should you be standing here all alone?" he asked. "I hear this is a pretty dangerous corner,"

"I'm fine," I shrugged.

"Feeling succinct today?"

"I guess,"

"Did I do something to offend?" he asked.

I sighed. "Don't get me wrong, this," I indicated to the chalk outline beneath our feet. "Was hilarious, and I stand by it. But the other stuff…."

"What other stuff?"

"Never mind," I said, turning away.

"No seriously, what other stuff have I done that's offended you in some way?"

"It's not me, it's Luke," I said. How could he not see how it was affecting his uncle? "The whole town is against him because of you,"

"Really how did I do that?"

"All the other stuff," I repeated.

"I'm not really familiar with the blue book laws in this town , you could be talking about a lot of things," he said sarcastically. "Dropping a gum wrapper, strolling arm in arm with a member of the opposite sex on a Sunday…"

"The whole town knows about Pierpont and about the save the bridge money," I said. "They had a meeting about it,"

"_You_ actually went to that bizarro town meeting?" he said incredulously. "Those things are so _To Kill a Mockingbird_,"

"Hey, it's one of the few entertainments available in this town," I said defensively. "Anyway, they all ganged up on Luke because of you, he's like the town pariah because he defended you. _ I _defended you…"

"You defended me?" he said, looking surprised.

"Yes, I defended you," I said. "Because yes, I can see how insane this town is. And we're friends, aren't we?"

"We are," he confirmed, looking a little pleased.

"Good, then do me a favour," I said. "Luke's a good guy. I'm not saying you have to be all perfect like… Rory or anything but not making his life harder would be nice,"

"Didn't know they were coming down so hard on him," Jess said. "So are they treating you like the town pariah too?"

I shrugged. "Well I may have inadvertently started dating rumours," I said. "But they're more focused on Luke,"

"Okay, I get it," he said. "I'll _try _not to be such a pain in the ass,"

"Good," I said. "And P.S. everyone knows you did this, so next time at least try and make it less obvious,"

"Then how would you know it was me?" he asked with a grin, walking away.

Once again, I left the diner with Jess as we headed to school.

* * *

"You fixed the toaster," I said, still a little taken aback that he had taken my advice.

"Like I told Luke, I don't fix things," he said, and I was surprised as I turned towards the school, he continued to walk beside me instead of heading off doing God knows what.

"You old softy," I teased, nudging his shoulder with mine.

"I'm not a softy," he insisted. "I'm just trying not to be such a pain in the ass, remember?"

I couldn't help but smile at that. "You are a softy,"

He scoffed. "I have a reputation, remember?" he then added, "It' s only because you see how crazy they all are,"

"Softy," I muttered cheekily again, and he shoved me jokingly as we walked into school. I had heaps of acquaintances at school, knowing the majority of students from the years we had all attended school together. But it was kind of nice walking into school with a friend.


	4. My Perfect Moment

I stood in the snow with Mom and Rory, building our snow woman to perfection. Yes, I was too cool for school when it came to a lot of Stars Hollow events but building snowmen, or snow-people should I say, really made my inherited love of the snow shine.

"How do you like that mouth?" Mom asked.

"It's not very mouth like," Rory commented, as I titled my head to the side.

"I think it works," Mom said defensively.

"It's tilted to the side," I informed her. "Come on Gilmore, you're better than this. We need to win this thing,"

"You don't think it gives her kind of a unique expression?" Mom tried.

"Like she had a stroke?" Rory retorted.

"Fine, I'll just use the Mrs. Potato Head lips,"

I groaned. Those were last resort kind of material. "We're doomed now,"

"Yeah, we're not gonna win this anyway," Rory agreed.

"Bad attitude,"

"Have you _seen _what is over there?" I said, pointing to the legitimately best snowman perhaps ever created.

"I'm sorry that snowman is way over the top, too showy," Mom scoffed. "It's screaming, 'I'm incredible, I'm special, look at me.'"

"Damn, I really wanted that set of new US quarters," I said, glaring over at the snowman builder, who waved at us.

Mom smiled at him as she said, "I hate that man with every fibre of my being,"

"Ignore him," Rory said, as we forged ahead with our own snow woman.

"Okay, what are we doing on your school break, ladies?"

Mom and Rory began discussing plans, as I focused on getting the wig just right.

"Well, you can't work the whole time," Mom said to my sister.

"I won't, I promise,"

"Well, what about you Miss Ava?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, read and draw," I hunted through the bag for a prop. "It's all I ever do,"

"Oh, I don't think that's all you ever do," Mom said with suspicious sweetness.

"Oh yeah, well sometimes I build snow women," I acknowledged. "But as we agreed, I have a rep to maintain and if anyone asks, you bullied me into it,"

"Is this rep of yours maintained by your association with a certain town bad boy?" Mom asked with false innocence, grinning evilly.

"Jess is my friend," I reminded her.

"So, will you two be spending a lot of time together over break?"

"Is that what you really want to ask me?" I asked, my gloved hands on my hips.

"Why, is there something you wanna tell me?" she returned quickly.

Rory sighed. "The whole town's abuzz since you stuck up for Jess at the meeting,"

"I know," I shrugged. I never particularly cared about Miss Patty and Babette's gossip. Nobody at school really cared about my friendship with Jess. I'm sure they all suspected more was going on, but there was usually far better gossip floating around to care what we got up to.

"Oh my God, he's power buffing," I said incredulously, and we all stared with forlorn expressions at the majestic sculpture.

"Come on," Rory said. "We can do this,"

"Absolutely," Mom said determinedly.

I opened my mouth to say something supportive, and then the head of our snow woman fell off.

"Coffee?" I said instead.

"Right behind you," Mom said, and we began to walk over to Luke's. "So Rory, do you know if a certain rebel will be there?"

I grabbed some snow from the ground, quickly forming a snowball and threw it at my mother's head. She shrieked and Rory laughed.

"I warned you, she's going to kill you,"

The Bracebridge Dinner was a huge deal to Mom and Sookie. They were fully recreating a nineteenth century meal, with the servers dressing in period clothing and even speaking in the English of the time. And it had just gotten cancelled by the huge company that had booked for it, because they were snowed in.

"I've got thirty pounds of aged beef, trays and trays of trout, mountains of prune tarts," Sookie exclaimed that night. Mom, Sookie, Rory and I were at Luke's, as they lamented the amount of stuff they were stuck with. "I diced pumpkins until my hands turned orange. I've got pumpkin hands!"

"Take a sip," Mom said, indicating to Sookie's coffee.

"How can you stay so calm about this?" Sookie asked.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Mom said.

"I can't believe they got snowed in," Rory said.

"I hate that," I spoke up. "Of the awesomeness that is snow, it has that one drawback,"

"Plus the whole being able to freeze you to death," Rory said.

"Oh yeah," I said thoughtfully, taking a sip of my coffee.

"All that work," Mom sighed. "All that extra help we hired. At least they paid for it already. We didn't lose any money."

"Yeah, I guess," Sookie said. "I could still make up dinner for the four of us,"

"Yeah, but then it would be like the four of us, all alone in the dining room," Rory said.

"Oh, it would be like _The Shining_," I said in my best creepy voice.

"Except instead of Jack Nicholson, we have Rune," Mom added.

"God, which is worse do you think?" I cringed. Jackson's cousin Rune was super creepy, and had it in for Mom for being tall.

Luke arrived with a pot of coffee. "Hey you girls want anything else besides coffee?"

"Hey, what about Luke?" Sookie suggested.

"What about him?" Luke asked.

"He eats, and Jess eats," Sookie said to Mom.

"I don't know," Mom said, unable to resist looking at me. "Does Jess eat?"

"No, he uses sarcasm as nourishment," I deadpanned.

"I could believe that," Mom said thoughtfully.

"Doesn't Jess eat?" Sookie said to Luke.

"What is she doing?" Luke asked Mom.

"I think she's inviting you to dinner," Mom said.

"Yeah, come on, join us, it'll be fun," Sookie said with a smile. "You like peacock pie?"

"I'm 100% sure I don't," he said.

"There'll be normal food too," Mom said.

"Thank God," I muttered quietly, knowing if Sookie heard a criticism about her cooking my life would be in danger.

"And decorations," Rory added, nudging me that she heard my comment.

"And music," Sookie contributed.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Mom said confidently.

"Well…" Luke hedged.

"You know what? Let's invite everyone," Mom said. "Everyone we know, everyone we like,"

All of a sudden, the entire town was invited.

Since school was on break, I headed to the diner for lunch and Jess took a seat at my table, even though he was supposed to be working.

"So, heard about this crazy dinner," he greeted me.

"Ironically, the entire crazy town is invited," I grinned. "You coming?"

"Are you?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? Sookie and Mom would kill me before letting me miss this thing," I said. "Which means you have to come, or else you'll be leaving me alone with the crazies. Then I'll become one of them and then you'll be the only sane one left. All alone. It will be sad."

He laughed. "I guess I have to come, then,"

I smirked triumphantly. "I guess so,"

"Jess, back to work!" Luke hollered from across the diner.

"Duty calls," Jess said with a roll of the eyes. "You know what you want?"

"Burger, chilli fries, coffee," I smiled.

"Coming right up," he said, sending a brief smile my way as he headed to the counter.

The following night was the Bracebridge Dinner. Rory was out helping Mom, while I was helping Sookie breathe into a paper bag. She was completely panicking.

"Sookie, you'll be amazing," I soothed her, wondering where Jackson was so he could try and calm her down. Nothing I was doing was working. She started ranting about Irving when Mom came in.

"I'm out, you're in," I said, quickly running out.

"Go help your sister and meet and greet," Mom called after me.

I went and stood with Rory. "Hey," I greeted casually.

"Hi," she said. "I invited Paris to stay for dinner,"

"Rory," I groaned. "First the grandparents now Paris? You're really gunning for that spot in heaven, huh?"

"Very funny," she said.

"So, who's checked in?" I asked.

She gave me a grin, which made me frown. "I just want to know in my new role of hostess, Rory. I don't care if Jess has arrived or not yet."

"No one mentioned Jess," she said with a smile. "You really like him, don't you?"

I gave her a look. "There's goes that spot in heaven. God doesn't like those who tease."

"Well then you're out," she said, poking her tongue out at me. Mom came rushing up to us.

"They're here," she said stiffly.

"Who?" Rory and I asked, looking over.

"The Joyless Luck Club," Mom said as Grandma and Grandpa arrived.

"Hello girls," Grandpa greeted brightly. "You look particularly lovely tonight,"

We had all dressed up for the occasion, but still, his reaction was a bit more jolly than usual.

"Thanks, Grandpa," Rory said with a laugh.

"You guys look nice yourselves," Mom added.

"Seems like the occasion called for it," Grandma said. She was also very happy.

"The air seems crisper here than Hartford," Grandpa noted. "It's wonderful,"

"Grandpa, you didn't eat some funny tasting brownies, did you?" I asked.

"What?" Grandpa asked, eyes wide.

"Nothing," Rory said quickly, bright smile on her face.

"I think she was making one of her funny jokes," Grandma said.

Grandpa laughed. "Oh, went straight over my head,"

"The brownies do that," I whispered to Mom, who tried to hide her snigger.

Grandpa refused help with their bags and cheerfully departed to their room when Rory gave him their key. Grandma stayed to let us know he'd been like that for two days and had no idea why but she was taking the credit.

I spotted Jess by a painting and headed over to say hi. The group at large chatted, and then Mom revealed her surprise of horse drawn carriages. I was standing beside Luke and Jess, who groaned simultaneously while the rest of the room seemed delighted.

"You're actually excited to go on a horse drawn carriage, aren't you?" Jess said in amusement.

"Hell yes," I said.

"She seems sullen and sarcastic, but the snow turns her into Lorelai Jr.," Luke said to Jess.

I poked my tongue out at him and joined the crowd outside to get a carriage.

I hopped in and pulled the fur blanket over my lap, perfectly content to be alone. The sleigh started to move when Jess jumped in.

"Oh my God!" I said. "What are you doing?"

"I heard it was two to a sleigh, no more no less," he quoted Mom.

"Why didn't you get in with me like a normal person?" I teased.

"In this town?" he scoffed.

"You could have hurt yourself," I said.

"I live on the edge," he bragged and I laughed. He always had to make himself out to be _such_ a rebel. "I can jump out if you want,"

"No," I said. "Just don't mock the snow. I will mock everything in the world but snow,"

"Wow, Luke was right," he nodded.

"If you call me Lorelai Jr. I will push you out of the sleigh," I said sweetly and he held up in hands in surrender. I looked around at the snow, a smile appearing on my face.

Then I remembered something. "Hey, heard you got into a fight today,"

"Oh yeah?" he said.

"It was all over school," I said. "What did Chuck Presby do?"

"He was a jerk," Jess said.

"Oh yeah, he's a total jerk," I agreed.

"This whole town is weird and full of jerks," Jess commented. He sounded so bitter.

"Not that I'm complaining," I said. "But why haven't you gone home for the holidays?"

"My mom didn't want me to," he said simply.

My heart broke at that. No matter how over the top my mother could be, she would always want me home, especially over the holidays. "Did she say she didn't want you home?"

"Nah, Luke told me it was his idea that I should stay," Jess shrugged. "It wasn't his idea," We came around past the snow people. "That's good, your snowman, or snowwoman I should say,"

"Oh yeah," I said passionately. "It took us forever to get the mouth right…" I faded off, embarrassed. "You tell anyone I was all holiday spirit-y I'll kill you,"

"The secret's out as soon as you look at snow," he said, giving me a fond look.

"You like the snowwoman then?"

"It definitely has the most personality," he said. "It kind of looks like Bjork,"

"That's what we were going for," I said excitedly. "But the one on the end is going to win, have you seen it? It's insane!"

"Really? It's so overdone,"

"Totally," I agreed.

"You should win," he said.

"True," I said. I paused for a moment, and then said, "I know you hate it here. But I'm glad you're here."

"Here being the holidays or here being Stars Hollow?"

"Both," I said simply, giving him a genuine smile. Underneath the blankets, his hand took mine. We didn't look at each other for the rest of the ride. I just sat back and enjoyed the view, while he held my hand in his.

Dinner was amusing, and I enjoyed Luke and Jess' sarcastic comments throughout, adding my own every now and again. I sat between Jess and Babette, and by the time dinner ended knew more about toilet training a cat than I ever wanted to.

Just when I thought this night was turning out to be a great one, Grandpa revealed at the dinner table that he had retired. He had not informed Grandma of this previously. Apparently it was not the brownies who were responsible for his good mood.

"It's nice to end a big, festive mean with a big festive pall hanging over the room," Mom said, coming out of the bathroom. Mom, Rory and I were sharing a room.

"Most people didn't notice anything," Rory said.

"Yeah," Mom laughed. "I guess Bootsy singing _Hotel California_ accompanied by spoons drew people's attention away."

"Do you think Grandma's killed Grandpa yet?" I asked.

"I don't know," Mom said, looking worried.

"Which bed am I in?" I asked.

"Share with your sister, your old mama needs her own bed," Mom said, putting on an old lady voice. "You go next to the window,"

"Okay," Rory said, and pulled back the cover to reveal Ugly Baby. I hadn't been home when Rory had gone through the Christmas cards, but Mom had tried to spook me with Ugly Baby several times since. Sadly, it worked every time. That baby really was frightening.

I shrieked as Rory gasped, "Mom!"

"That is a nasty trick, Lorelai Gilmore," I said, my hand on my chest.

"What?" she said innocently.

"You set Ugly Baby on us!" I exclaimed as Rory held up the picture.

"I didn't, I swear," Mom said, on the verge of laughter. "That baby is stalking us,"

"Poor baby, it's not his fault," said the ever kind Rory.

"I think it's a she," Mom said helpfully.

"Poor baby, you picked the wrong parents," Rory quipped.

I threw the picture at Mom as we got into bed.

"Hey, you heard from Dad recently?" Rory asked casually, while I scowled at her. Apart from the grandparents debacle, tonight had been a good night. Why ruin it with talk of Christopher?

"What dad? Your dad?" Mom asked, making me look at her suspiciously. That was a weird reaction.

"Yeah, my dad," Rory said.

"Why?" Mom asked.

"Because six times out of ten he checks in the time of year," I said.

"There may have been a call," Mom said, sounding guilty.

"There may have been? You don't remember?" Rory didn't sound impressed.

"Things have been so hectic with the Bracebridge Dinner and building a snowwoman, and planning the ugly baby gag, that took time," Mom rambled.

"Mom…"

"Yes, he called! He called and invited you both and it's not too late to go!" Mom said loudly. "He called and invited you. There you go. I'm sorry I didn't tell you both, so there."

"Why did he invite us over?" I said incredulously. "To spend time with him and the latest girlfriend?"

"Why didn't he invite us himself?" Rory asked. "Is he worried Ava won't go?"

"Ava's not going," I said firmly.

"He's pretending to be considerate by running it past me first," Mom said.

"Was he maybe not pretending to be considerate and actually being considerate?" Rory said.

"No," I said bluntly. "What, he all of a sudden wants to play happy families with this Sherry chick?"

"Ava," Rory said warningly. She turned to Mom. "Why didn't you tell me? He may be waiting on an answer, holding off his plans."

"Because I have dibs on this time of year with you girls. Not him, me," Mom ranted. "Yes, he acknowledged that and that was cool, but still, it stinks. We had all these plans, even Miss Pretends To Hate Christmas over there,"

"Hey!" I said indignantly.

"And then you'd be over there hanging with your stepmother!"

Wow. Rory and I exchanged looks.

"She isn't our stepmother," I said gently.

"She practically is," Mom countered.

"You're wigging," Rory said in awe.

"There is something wrong with her," Mom said, wagging her finger at us.

A knock on the door got Mom off her tangent, thankfully, until Grandma walked in right in the middle of one. She was demanding a new room, refusing to stay in a room with Grandpa.

"There are no other rooms, Mom," Mom said to Grandma, who was in a dressing gown holding onto her makeup bag tightly.

"Then I'll go home!" she exclaimed.

And that's how Mom and Grandma ended up in a bed together, with Rory and I in the other. That lasted about five seconds before Grandma decided to take a walk.

"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Gilmores of our lives," Mom quipped. We all fell into silence.

"Hey Ava," Mom whispered loudly.

"What?"

"How was the sleigh ride with Jess?" her voice full of innuendo.

"How was the sleigh ride with Luke?" I retorted.

She paused. "Yeah, okay, touché. Night, girls,"

I wondered if Rory was going to take Christopher up on his offer to spend time with him and Sherry over the holidays. I sighed, knowing if I thought about it I would get all worked up and wouldn't be able to sleep. So instead, I thought about a hand being held under the blanket of a sleigh. My perfect moment.


	5. The Verbal Win

I stared at my results with wide eyes. "This can't be right," I muttered.

"I assure you, they are," Ms Geist said with a beaming smile. "You've done marvellously, Ava! With scores like this, you should seriously be considering an Ivy League."

"An Ivy League," I echoed disbelievingly. All I knew was that Harvard was out of the question. I wasn't planning on going to college with the genius sister. _The sister you beat at verbal._

"Have some brochures," she said eagerly, handing me a huge stack. She was clearly thrilled. Me? I was just trying to hold back my complete and utter shock and failing miserably. I walked out of her office to find Jess waiting for me, a curious look on his face.

"Ivy Leagues," he noted the brochures in my arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut it," I warned him.

He lifted his hands in the air innocently. "So I take it you aced the PSATs?" I ignored him as we headed to my locker. "So, when are you going to tell the Lorelais?"

"Uh, never?" I said emphatically. "They'll make it into a huge deal."

"It is a huge deal," he said as we got to my locker.

"I am actually afraid by the lack of mocking in that sentence," I informed him as I unlocked the door.

"There's no mocking," he said, and at my look, added, "Seriously."

"I don't want supportive friend Jess right now," I informed him, throwing the brochures into my bag and getting out my books for my next class. "I would like delinquent Jess."

"Even delinquent Jess kind of wants to know just how good you did," he said. "Coz you have the kind of wide eyed, did something bad kind of look."

"I bet Rory in verbal," I said quickly. "She beat me in math, though. So it's no big deal. Right?"

He gave me a look. It was totally a big deal. The artist daughter wasn't supposed to beat the Chilton attending, genius daughter.

* * *

I was surprised to find my mother waiting for me when I arrived home.

"I thought you had class," I said in confusion.

"I'm missing it," she said, a rare expression of seriousness across her face.

"Okay," I said, officially unnerved. "Is everything okay?"

"I got a call from your guidance counsellor, Ms Geist," she said, and I dropped my bag on the floor. Of course, in the perfection that is my life, the Ivy League brochures fell out for Mom to see. "She told me how hard you've been studying, how you aced your PSATs, how you've even been involved in the art club, the book club and the newspaper."

"She shouldn't have told you all that," I said, feeling myself go red as I quickly put the brochures back in my bag.

"Ava," Mom said gently. "You have amazing scores. You've been trying hard at school. Why would you not want me to know all that?"

"It isn't a big deal," I said, walking into my bedroom. Of course, Mom being Mom, she followed me.

"Why wouldn't you want me to know?" she insisted.

"You're making a big deal," I said with annoyance.

"It's just… you've always been smart, Ava," she said. "But you've never seemed interested in college the way Rory has been."

Okay, that was it.

"Says who, Mom?" I said angrily. "Because I wasn't dreaming of Harvard from kindergarten? Because I love to draw and that translates into not being good at school? Or maybe because from the age of six everyone decided Rory was the genius?"

For once, Mom was genuinely speechless.

I took a breath. "Look, Rory's the favourite. I get that, believe me. But if you had ever taken one _second_ to ask me what my college plans were, you would know it involves getting the hell out of Stars Hollow and figuring out where the hell I belong! You wanna know why I try so hard? Because it's the only way I have of getting out of here!"

I stormed away from her, slamming the front door open. To my joy, my storm out was ruined when my foot sank through the porch.

"Seriously?" I moaned, looking at the sky. "There's no mirrors broken, no ladders walked under, no shoes on the bench! This day sucks."

* * *

Mom and I weren't speaking. More accurately, I was avoiding her. This was considerably easier than normal, because she was preoccupied by the news that our house had termites.

Rory, who didn't know what we were arguing about but thankfully was staying out of it, let me know that it was going to cost $15,000 to fix the house.

"Oh my God," I gasped. "We're never eating again."

"Hey, that's what I said," she said, amused and that uncomfortable feeling I'd gotten when I'd seen my results returned.

That night, Mom woke us up in the middle of the night.

"I can hear them chewing," she announced as she walked into our bedroom.

"Who?" Rory asked sleepily.

"The termites, they're everywhere, nibbling and eating and swallowing," Mom ranted.

"You're insane," Rory said.

"I can't sleep here," Mom insisted. "We have to go to Sookie's."

"It's eleven o'clock at night," Rory complained. I remained silent, resolute in avoiding conversation with my mother.

Regardless of the time, we were soon bundled up and outside Sookie's house. I was especially foul, having to listen to Mom's termite rants.

"There they are, my little termite whisperers," Sookie greeted, and I smiled. She was so cheerful, it was hard to be my usual sarcastic self around Sookie.

"Hey Sookie, sorry to call so late," Mom apologised.

"Mom's lost her mind," I added, ignoring the look Mom sent me.

"I'm sorry, but they were getting organised and I heard one of them yell 'charge!'" she quipped.

"We'll make this up to you," Rory said.

"What are you talking about? This is great. It'll be like a slumber party!" Sookie said, almost jumping in excitement. "We can raid the fridge, make a nice avocado mango face mask, get out the tarot cards, tell fortunes, play Twister, make a Haagen Dazs chocolate/chocolate chip ice cream milkshake, we'll watch _Purple Rain…_"

"Sookie, it's midnight," Mom said.

"Okay, let's go straight for the milkshakes," Sookie said.

"Good thinking," Mom said.

Not wanting to spend any more time with my mother than was necessary, I quickly excused myself for bed.

* * *

Friday night dinners. They weren't my favourite time in any given week, and add Mom and my fight to the mix, and the tension was just awesome.

Mom taking an aspirin for a tension headache led to questions by Grandma as to why Mom was so tense, which of course led to Rory revealing we had termites when Mom had explicitly told her not to.

"Mom, wait, what are you doing?" Mom asked Grandma, who had gotten up.

"I'm writing you a check," Grandma said.

"No, you're not," Mom said. "Hold on there."

"How much do you need?" Grandma insisted.

"Nothing," Mom answered.

"Don't be ridiculous, just tell me how much you need."

"I can handle this," Mom insisted. "I appreciate the thought but I don't need your money."

"Not unless it's for Rory's school," I muttered, and all three women turned to look at me in surprise.

"Oh great, so you're mad at me for not asking if you wanted to go to Chilton?" Mom said.

"Ava wants to go to Chilton?" Grandma said in surprise. "I didn't think she would want to go to that sort of school."

"As is the Gilmore assumption about me," I said with annoyance.

"You want to go to Chilton?" Rory said, not even bothering to hide her surprise.

"No, I don't want to go to Chilton," I said. "But I just love the assumption that dumb Ava wouldn't want to go."

"No one thinks you're dumb," Rory protested.

"And you're the one who hides everything from us," Mom said, and Grandma looked at us curiously.

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing now," I said. "Can't we go back to the termites?"

"Yes, just accept the cheque, Lorelai," Grandma said.

"The house isn't going to fall down," Mom said with annoyance. "Let's not make this a big deal, let's sit down, have a drink and have dinner, okay?"

"Alright," Grandma said, sitting back down reluctantly. "So what is it that Ava is hiding?"

"Her intelligence, apparently," Mom said.

"You wanna have this out here?" I snapped.

"Hey, you're the one who brought it up," Mom returned.

"Okay," I said, turning to my grandmother. "I am in the book club, the art club and I write for the newspaper. I took my PSATs and I aced them. I even beat Rory in verbal. And apparently, I should be looking at Ivy Leagues," I looked away from my shell shocked Grandma and at my mother. "Happy?"

"You beat me in verbal?" Rory asked.

"You beat me in math," I countered.

Simultaneously, we all took a drink from our glasses.

"Dinner's ready," Grandma's maid of the week announced.

* * *

I was sitting on the bridge, bundled up as I read.

"Hey," Mom said as she sat beside me.

"You know my favourite spot?" I said in surprise.

"I guessed," she admitted. "But do you know every single time we crossed this when you were little, you always wanted to play here? Sit on the edge, look over. I hoped I still knew that much at least."

I nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"I don't know how it got like this between us," she said quietly. "Rory and I… it's always been so easy, you know? And you never seemed interested in being a mama's girl. I think if Chris had shown up more, you would have been a daddy's girl."

"Maybe," I admitted, remembering how fond I had been of him as a little girl.

"I'm really proud of you," she said. "Those are amazing scores. What you are doing with school, that's amazing. I just wish you felt like you could share it with me. I don't want us to be like my mom and me."

"It's different," I said, struggling to explain it. "In everything I do, I am compared to Rory. Everything except my art. I don't want you to read my articles, or know how good I am in English because I know it will all be compared to the genius twin. Mom, when we went to Harvard neither of you considered I might want to go to an Ivy League. Nobody considered I might want to go to Chilton."

"I'm sorry," Mom said genuinely. "I really do want to try more with you, Ava. I love you both the exact same. Never doubt that."

I knew my mother loved me. I just didn't really think it was in the same league as her love for Rory, the daughter she had named after herself.

"So, come on," she said, getting up and holding her hand out to me. "How does a coffee sound? Maybe we can start on what I've been missing."

I stared at her hand for a moment, somewhat surprised that she was offering this to me. That she wanted to try. Finally, I put my hand in hers and allowed her to pull me up.

We'd probably never be as close as she and Rory were. But the off chance that we could, that was what got me to follow her.

* * *

**Author's Note: I've been a bit lost on this story, hence the lack of updates, but I'm getting back on track with it. Not great timing though, as I am heading overseas for six weeks. **

**However, when I get back I do have a storyline unfolding of where I want this to go. Would love to hear what you think of the chapter, please review :)**


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